Spokane County approves jobs-slashing budget

Spokane County commissioners approved a budget Tuesday that will eliminate about 150 full-time positions from the county’s payroll in 2010.

The total number of layoffs is not clear at this point because many county departments still have to shift personnel, and some workers can opt to “bump” less senior employees by taking lower-level jobs with less pay. Some will come from departments supported by special fees or taxes, but the majority – about 114 full-time jobs – will come from the general fund, which is down about $13 million from last year.

Commissioners unanimously approved the $135 million general fund budget along with other spending plans for a total county budget of $412 million. But they said union employees could still negotiate changes to their labor contracts and save some jobs by forgoing cost-of-living adjustments or accepting pay cuts or higher benefit payments.

The general fund is financed by property and sales taxes and other general taxes. Other budgets are tied to specific revenue sources and must be spent on targeted programs or services, such as roads or capital construction.

Non-union employees will not get raises next year, Commissioner Mark Richard said: “This is a difficult time for each and every one of us.”

Union contracts with the county would allow them to make changes to next year’s pay and benefits through Dec. 31, said Margaret Smith, a budget analyst for the county, in response to a question from commissioners.

“We can make adjustments. There’s still time,” Smith said.

On Monday, commissioners rejected pleas from employees of the criminal justice agencies to save some of their staff from layoffs. Law enforcement and criminal justice covers about 75 percent of the county’s total expenses.